Self-adjusting gear shifting mechanism



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SELF-ADJUSTING GEAR SHIFTING MEcHANIsM Filed Nov. 22, 1957 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 'May 27, 1941.

E. E. SMITH SELF-ADJUSTING GEAR SHIFTING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 2v2, 1957 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 May 27, 1941. E, E, SMITH SELF-ADJUsTING GEAR SHIFTING MEGHANISM Filed Nov. 22, 1937 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 @MVN m gm May 27, 1941;` E.' E. sMm-l I SELF-ADJUSTING GEAR SHIFTING MECHANISM 8 sheets-sheet s Filed Nov. 22. 1957' May 27, 1941.

E. E. SMITH SELF-ADJUSTING GEAR SHIFTING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 22, 1957 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 May 27,l 1941.

Filed Nov. 22. 1937 8 Sheets-Sheet 7l May 27, 1941- E. E. SMITH 2,243,321` SELF-ADJUSTING GEAR' SHIFTING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 22, 1937 Y 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 MQW 00- Inni/v, *mc* Q10/@35 NWN( Nmw @uw SN www Nmww wwwmw N www @NQQNN @NN @uw ,www www vantage without necessity of control with each other.

Patented May 27, 1941 uNl-TED STATES vPATENT oFFlcl-z` SELF-ADJ USTIN G GEAR SHIFTING MECHA- NISM y Elwood E. Smith, Chicago, Ill.

Application NovemberZZ, 1937; Serial No. 175,899

29 Claims.

This invention relates to gear shifting mechanism and more particularly such mechanism that will automatically adjust itself to variations in the driven load resulting from the operation of an automobile or other mechanism in which my invention is adaptable.

An object of my invention isilthe provision of self-adjusting gear shifting mechanism in which substantially all of the parts and operations conform to accepted practices in automotive enginearing, an outstanding feature of my invention consisting in the utilizing of the variation in the load resistance as an activating force to move the parts so as to adjust the regular gears of standard type transmission to the greatest adby the driver.

Another object of my invention is to eifect the gear shifting by energy stored up from longitudinal movement of a portion of the drive shaft, and providing locking means to prevent the dissipation of such stored up energy when the clutch is released to permit the shifting to takevsplace.

A further object is to provide novel locking means in connection with the gear shifting mechanism to prevent any shifting movement while energy is being stored up by thelongitudinal movement of a portion of the drive shaft.

A still further object is to provide means wherebythe stored up energy can be released only at the proper time so as -to permit the actual shifting of the gears without mechanical interferencel or clashing. Another object of my invention isto provide novel means for iutomatically effecting the unlocking of said locking means at the proper time.

A further object is to provide a proper timing rof the various operations. of the parts for controlling and effecting the shifting of the gears so that the various steps of the*` operation will occur in proper sequence without interference A still further object is to provide a novel arrangement of parts in the differential housing to effect longitudinal movement of the drive shaft upon change in back pressure due to resistance of the driven load` against the driving force of the drive shaft;-and to translate this longitudinal movement ofthe drive shaft into automaticshiftf ing of the gears to accommodate the varying load conditions, v

A further object is to provide a longitudinally movable shifting rod and means associated there-A with whereby the gears may be selectively shifted in one direction upon movement ofthe shifting rod in one direction, and selectively shifted in the opposite direction upon movement of the shifting rod in the opposite direction.

A further object is to provide novel -neutral mechanism which will temporarily disconnect lthe regular controlling devices and position the shifting rod so 'that when the ,neutral device is released the gears will liirstbe shifted intolow to accommodate the heavier load attendant upon starting up the car.

susceptible of modification and changek without',

Another object of myinvention is to provide self -adjusting ygear shifting mechanism rhaving economy of space, simplicity of-parts and operations, and capable of :efficient transmission of` departing from 'the spirit of my invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a general diagrammatic layout `of selfj adjusting gear shifting mechanism vembodying my i invention, some of the parts being shown in v er.-

tical longitudinal section,A some inelevation and some in distorted position for the sake Aof convenience.'

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section through a portion of the gear casing, most of fthe parts being shown in elevation, and showing the mechanism forselectively transmitting 'the longitudinal movement of the shifting'rod'to lthev shifting of the gears.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical transverse section on the line 3 3 of Fig. Zand looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective detail of l one of the devices for selectively shifting` the gears which controls the circuit for operating the. vari- Another object is the provision of a lcngitu- I dinally moving shifting rod and novel mechanism for translating movement of said rod to the selective shifting ofthe gears.

from the longitudinal movement of thejshifting rod.

Fig. 5 is a. diagrammatic view of the'rtrip switch ousv locking dev'icesand the valve of the vacuum cylinder of the clutch release, and also showing Fig. 6 is a detail elevation of the mechanism for shifting the-reverse gear.

Fig. 7 `is a fragmentary -frnnt elevationof a portion of a panel of the instrument board showing slots and portions of the neutral and reverse levers operating therein.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective detail of the neutral lever and associated parts.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view of' a portion of the gear casing and the hinged pulley over which the neutral cable operates, with associated parts for automatically closing the circuit which controls the unlocking of the shifting rod and the unlocking of parts of the gear shifting mechanism.

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a modified form of my invention.

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a modified form of mechanism for transmitting movement ofthe shifting rod to the selective shifting of the gears.

Fig. 12 is a horizontal section on the line I2-I2 of Fig. 11 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary vertical section on the line I3-I3 of Fig. 1l looking in the direction of the arrows. 1

Fig. 14 is a perspective detail of the rack bar, one of the mutilated gears and associated parts of the mechanism shown in Figs. 11 and 13 for transmitting longitudinal motion of the rack bar shifting rod to the selective shifting of the gears. Fig. 15 is a side elevation partly in section of further modification in Imy invention.

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal section with parts shown in elevation of another modification of my invention.

Fig. 17 is a vertical 1ongitudina1 section of a hydraulic cylinder operated by the mechanism shown in Fig. 16.

Fig. 18 is a vertical longitudinal section through one of the gear shifting cylinders and associated Darts used inconnection with the modification of Fig. 1,6.

Fig. 19 is a detail elevation of the shifting gears and operating parts used in connection with the structure shown in Fig. 18.

Fig. 20 is a fragmentary sectional detail of mechanism for placing the gears in neutral.

, Referring in detail to the drawings andmore particularly Fig. 1, positioned in the usual manner within the differential housing I is the rear axle shaft 2 to whichis keyed the worm gear 3, which worm gear replaces the usual ring gear. Rotatably mounted in the differential housing I is the rear end of the drive shaft 4, upon which is fixed the worm which drives the worm gear 3 in a manner that will be readily understood. The rear end of drive shaft 4 is; rotatably mounted in a bearing member 6, which will be provided with suitable anti-friction means. 'Ihe free end of drive shaft 4 is enclosed by the cap member 1 secured by bolts 8 to an extension of the differential housing. As will be noted in Fig. 1, the free endof drive shaft 4 extends beyond bearing 6 and is mounted for,1ongitudinal movement in said bearing, the interior of cap member 1 being of a size to permit any necessary longitudinal movement of this shaft.

On the opposite side of differential housing I and in alignment with bearing 8, is a bearing member 9 similar in construction to bearing member 6 and also permitting longitudinal sliding movement therein of drive shaft 4. Fixed to drive shaft 4 closely adjacent the front end .of

worm 5 is a thrust bearing Ill, against theiforward face of which is the complemental half II of the thrust bearing, there being provided between the adjacent faces of -the thrust bearing members I0 and II suitable anti-friction devices such as balls, rollers or the like. Cup plate I2 is held against thrust bearing member I I by means of a coil spring or main spring I3, which latter tends to move drive shaft 4 to the right as viewed in Fig. 1, the opposite end of spring I3 bearing against a cup plate I4 which in turn seats s against the adjacent inner face of the end of the hollow extension I5 of the differential housing. A universal joint I6 is provided in drive shaft 4 which is of the usual construction in automobile practice.

The drive s haft 4 is also provided with a telescopic splineconnection Il having internal splines formed therein, with which slidably cooperate complemental splines I8 to permit a longitudinal movement and corresponding lengthening or shortening of the drive shaft to accommodate longitudinal movement of the latter, as

will be later more fully described. Ahead ofthe spline member I'I of drive shaft'd is,the transmission housing I9, in which is journalled on one side the forward end portion of the drive shaft 4 and in the opposite side in alignment therewith the end portion of the engine shaft- 2U, so that the engine shaft and drive shaft will form a continuous coaxial shaft. The rear end of engine shaft 20 has xed thereto to rotate therewith the `spur gear 2|, which is formed in its rear face and coaxial with the engine shaft and drive shaft with a toothed cavity adapted to receive corresponding teeth on the clutch member 22 of the standard type as used in American automobiles of the present day, this clutch member'being the one, as will be more fully understood later, for transmitting high speed to the drive wheels of the car.

As will be seen in Fig. 2, the rear end of the engine shaft 20 and the forward end of the drive shaft 4 are separate and distinct from each other but closely adjacent. In other words, the rear end of engine shaft 28 terminates within high gear 2I or a suitable hub formed on the Same if desired, but stops considerably short of the rear face of gear 2I to permit entry into the hollow toothed opening thereof of the forward end of l drive shaft 4. As will be understood, this permits engine shaft 20 and drive shaft 4 to rotate at different speeds with relation to each other, and when required in opposite directions with relation to each other. It should also here be keptin mind that the structure described above permits when desired the high speed clutch member 22 to be moved into engagement with the internal teeth 23 formed in the hollow interior of spur gear 2I, so that drive shaft 4 may be directly connected with and driven at the same speed as engine shaft 20. The longitudinal movement of clutch member 22 is made possible by suitable longitudinally extending splines 24 formed in l drive shaft 4 and -at a length to permit the degear 29, as seen in Fig. 2, meshes in permanent engagement with spur gear 2| so that idler shaft 28 is always rotating with engine shaft 28 When the engine is running. Spur gear 38 is in constant meshing engagement with spur gear 33, which latter is rotatably mounted on drive shaft 4 so that it will not be rotated thereby except when the intermediate gear mechanism is connected therewith, as later more fully explained- Spur gear 3| is in constant meshing engagement with spur gear 34, which like gear 33'is rotatably mounted with relation to drive shaft 4 except 'when the low gear driving mechanism is connected therewith, as later explained.

Splined by means of a plurality of splines 35 t drive shaft 4 is the clutch member 36 formed with the circumferential groove 31, in which are seated a pair of arms 38 formed on the free end ofa shifting lever 39 similar to shifting lever 21 and operated as later described. It should here be pointed out that spuro gear 33 is formed with a hollow interior having spur clutch teeth compleniental to and for receiving in driving eng-agement the spur teeth of clutch member 36 when the latter is moved into the toothed hollow interior 48 of spur gear 33.

Spur gear 34 is formed on its interior with a hollow circumferentially toothed portion 4|, in which are adapted to engage the spur teeth of clutch member 42, spllned by means of splines 43 to drive shaft 4, said clutch member also being formed with a circumferential groove 44 within which are seated arms 45 of the shifting lever 46, which is operated in a manner similar to shifting levers 21 and 39, as later explained. From this it is seen that each ofvspur gears 2|, 33 and 34 are formed with a hollow toothed interior, the teeth of which are complemental to and slidably receive the teeth 'of clutch members 22, 36 and 42, when the latter are selectively moved into engagement with the former as later explained.

shifting rod are notches 12, 13 and 14, in which Y are adapted to seat the pointed lower end of the spring-pressed solenoid plunger 15, the spring of which forces this pointed end into the adjacent notch at the appropriate time to lock the shiftf member 19 is a downwardly extending angular4 through the rear end wall 49 of the transmission vhousing and a substantial distance to the rear of the same. Rear end wall 49 is formed with a boss 58 apertured to Slidably receive shifting rod 41. Secured to shifting rod 41 at suitably spaced points are the cup plates 5| and 52, which receive .the adjacent ends of coil springs 53 and 54, respeotively. Slidably mounted upon or straddling shifting rod 41 is the yoke member 55 having the vertically slotted guideway 56 which slidably recelves for vertical movement therein the rolleror 4the'like 51 carried by the upper end of shifting arm 58 .fulcrumed at 59 to a stationary support 8l. The lower end of lever 58 is extended downwardly beyond fulcrum 59 and formed with a longitudinally extending slot 6| which receives a pin 82 carried by sleeve 63 loosely mounted on drive shaft 4, between collars 64 and 65, xed to the drive shaft. Longitudinal movement of the drive shaft 4 forwardly as viewed in Fig. 1, will 'cause arm 58 to swing about fulcruni 59 in Ia ing rod against longitudinal movement. Sole-1'Y noid 16 which operates solenoid plunger 15 is` mounted in a suitable supporting bracket 11 secured to the rear wall of transmission casing I9. Energizing and deenergizing of this solenoid at the proper times will in cooperation with the spring of the spring-pressed plunger 15 move this plunger into or out of locking engagement with the adjacent notch in shifting rod 41, as later more fully explained.

Shifting levers 21, 39 and 46 v(see Fig. 2) are rotatably mounted upon pins or stub shafts 18 forming part of the bracket 19 which is fixed to the interior of the transmission housing |9,

Fixed -tol or formed integral with bracket web 88. This web extends downwardly and 'toward the rear at an angle from the stub shaft sitioned to extend at a ninety degree angle with relation to cam lever 83 as seen in Fig. 4. Roller 84 is positioned within for movement along a longitudinal slot 86, with which each o f the shifting levers 21, 39 and 4 6 is provided. Shifting fork 85 is formed with an open-ended slot 81, forming spaced arms 88 and 89, the'free end of each of which is rounded as shown at 98. The upper end of each of shifting levers 21, 39 and 46 is formed with a pair of notches 9| and 92, which are spaced from each other asuitable distance for purposes later explained, and which notches respectively .receive the tapered knife edge 93 carried by the lower end of the spring-pressed' solenoid plunger 94, provided for longitudinal movement in each of solenoids 95, 96 and 91, so that when these plungers are in extended position under spring action they will enter the registering notch 9| or 92, and when retracted under action of the solenoid will be withdrawn from such notch.

The mechanism for shifting shifting levers 21, 39 and 46 described ab0ve,1 is the same for each of these shifting levers, with the exception that,

as shown in Fig. 2, the two shifting forks 85 for levers 39 and 46 are fulcrumed to the front of the shifting levers, whereas in shifting leverv 21 the same is fulcrumed-to the rear thereof. The open end of the slot 81 in each of shifting forks is, as seen in Fig. 2, so positioned'as to receive shifting pin`1| when` the same is moved toward and into the same. In order words, except when v.

shifting pin 1| is within slot 81, the open ends of these slots are always so positioned that pin 1| may move thereinto upon appropriate longitudinal movement of shifting rod 41. This means that shifting pin 1| upon longitudinal movement of shifting rod 41 will enter slot 81 from one side, simultaneously rock together shifting fork 85 and cam lever 83 and swing the vsame about the fulcrum pin 82 an amount corresponding to-the amount of longitudinal movement of shifting rod 41. If such longitudinal movement of the shifting rod is sufficient in extent, pin 1I will enter slot 81 and swing the shifting fork from its extreme position on one side to its extreme position on the other side, after which pin 1| will move out of said slot and on to the next shifting fork if the movement of the shifting rod is continued. ,l

When trip arm 66 is moved to the rear a suitable distance, trip projection 68 contacts the trip finger 98 of the trip switch 99, shown more in detail in Fig. 5, and comprising in general a casing within which is pivotally mounted the swinging trip finger 98 which slides through 'a slot |0|. Trip nger 98 has a rearward extension |02 fixed thereto, which extension carries a roller |03 contacting the inner face of a concentric curved rocker arm' |04 fulcrumed at |05 and formed with sufficient eccentricity that swinging movement of roller |03 will bring the same into contact with either solenoid plunger |06 or sole-l noid plunger |01, depending upon the direction of movement of trip finger 98. Trip finger 98 is provided with a coil spring |08 which tends to normally return the trip finger when released to the position shown in Fig. 5. Movement of solenoid plungers |06 or |01 will cause closing of switches |09 or ||0, thus closing the circuit and causing a current of electricity to flow through conductors ||2 and I through solenoid ||3, or through circuits ||2 and |I3 through solenoid I |4, depending upon which of these switches is operated. `Energizing of either of these two solenoids will hold its respective plunger outwardly against the adjacent switch |09 or |I0, and hold this switch closed until the solenoid is deenergized by breaking of its circuit elsewhere as later explained. Each of these solenoid plungers are spring-pressed so that when the solenoid circuit is broken the plunger |06 or |01 will be returned to the position shown in Fig. 5. Conductor I|2 includes the winding of solenoid ||5, and from there passes on through conductor |6 to circuit breaker switch |I1, which circuit breaker switch ||1 is'connected through conductor ||8 with the shifting rod locking solenoid 16, and thence to the shifting lever locking solenoids 91, 96 and 95, and thence to the battery designated diagrammatically in Fig. 1 at ||9.

The motion of the yoke member 55 in response to torque reaction under variation of driving loads will produce motion of the extension 66 which bears the projections 68 and 69. The tripping of the switch 98 takes place every time collar 55 moves a great enough distance to pass the trigger'98. On the other hand, it will be evident that none of this motion of yoke member 55, extension 66 or trigger 98 takes place during the application of the neutral device.

As seen in the left-hand portion of Fig. 5, solenoid plunger |20, which has its lower end formed into a tapered valve |2| adapted to seat in the valve seat |22, in which when the solenoid is not energized the plunger is pressed downwardly to bring valve |2I againstl seat |22. When the solenoid is energized, plunger |20 is drawn thereinto to is provided with a spring-pressed move valve |2| away from seat |22 and open up communication from vacuum line |23 (which connects with the intake manifold |24 of the engine) to the interior of the vacuum cylinder |25 to cause the piston head |26 therein to move toward the left-hand end of the cylinder as viewed in Figs. 1 and 5.

It is here pointed out that the lower end of solenoid plunger |20 beyond tapered valve |2| is provided with a coaxially extending rod |21 having at its lower end a valve |28 adapted to be seated against the valve seat |29 when the solenoid plunger I 20 is pulled into the solenoid to establish communication between the vacuum line and the interior of the cylinder, whereby to prevent the entry of air through relief opening |30. When, however, tapered valve I2| is seated against valve seat |22, valve |28, as will be understood in Fig. 5, is moved away from its valve seat to open relief opening |30 to permit the entry of'atmospheric air into the vacuum cylinder |25 to permit the piston head |26 to move to the right to the position shown in Fig. l1 under action of the spring, not shown, of the clutch pedal- |3 I, which clutch pedal I3| is connected as shown in Fig. 1 through conventional parts with the rod |32 forming an extension of the piston rod |33. From this it will be understood that movement of the piston head |26 to the left in Fig. 1,

asexplained above, will release the clutch and.

movement of the same to the right will close the clutch.

As will be later more fully understood, it is highly desirable and necessary in'my invention to prevent loss of the energy stored up in coil spring 53,0r coil spring 54, depending upon which direction the drive shaft has moved. lIf no means were provided to prevent this loss of 'energy it would immediately become lost or dissipated when the clutch is released, but this is prevented in my invention by means now to be described, which will retain and preserve this stored up energy until it has been used for shifting the gears in the transmission housing.

To effect this end I have provided a supporting frame |34 which is suitably bolted toa stationary portion (not shown) of the frame of the auto.-

Z mobile or such other mechanism in which my invention is being used. This stationary supporting member is provided at each end with a sleeve vbearing |35, in each of which is slidably mounted a rod |36, the lower end of each of which isl secured to and carries the rack bar |31. This construction enables a vertical movement of rack bar |31by virtue of rods |36 sliding Vup or down in their respective sleeve bearings |35. Mounted upon supporting frame |34 is a solenoid |38, the spring-pressed plunger |39 of which carries a depending rod or extension |40 fixed at its lower end to rack par |31, whereby when the solenoid is energized its plunger |39 is forced downwardly to bring the teeth of rack bar |31 into engagement with the teeth I4| on the Aupper surface of yoke whereby when these teeth are thus engaged the yoke 55 cannot' move, and in turn prevents longitudinal movement of shifting rod 41, which in turn holds or preserves the tension stored up in either of coil sprlngs'53 or 54 (depending upon the direction -of movement of drive shaft 4) when the clutch is released.

Solenoid |38 is energized only at such times as wiper arm |46 is pushed aside by projection |45. As this takes place only during the brief period when the clutch pedal ls applied, it will be seen that this solenoid is energized very little.

Further, it .will be noticed that the collar 55 does not move at all 'during the operation of the neutral lever and cable.. This is because the driving shaft has no longitudinal motion at thatl time and the` arm 58 would prevent thecollar -55 from beingmoved. 'This calls ior thespring 54 being compressedbetweenthe collar 52 and the collar 55 due Vto 'a considerable rearward movementof the shifting rod.41 under the pull of the neutral cable |54. This pull of the neutral cable is maintained all the time in which the manual lever |58 is in the notch |63, provided to secure it in neutral position as shown in Fig. 7.

Itis to be understood that when the teeth on the bottom of rack bar |31 engage the teeth on the top of yoke 55, the latter will have moved from the position shown in Fig. l to a position to the right in Fig. 1, and the coil spring 53 will as a result then be under compression. This engaging of the teeth in the rack bar and yoke, as will be understood will hold this spring 53 in compression and prevent the dissipation of the energy stored up therein at such time as the clutch is open. This locking operation takes battery. This energizes solenoid |38 and causes its plunger |39 to move downwardly and lock yoke 55 against further longitudinal movement as explained above.

As will be understood, cylinder |25 (see Fig. 1) is provided at its right-hand end with an air-relief port to permit the free-movement of air on this side of the piston head for a purpose that will be obvious.

The mechanism for placing the driving transmission in neutral will nowbe described. Re-

ferring to Figs. 1, 9 and 10, there is swingably` mounted on the rear end wall of the transmission housing a supporting arm |52 having rotatably mounted thereon the pulley wheel |53, over which runs the cable |54, one end of this cable being xed to the shifting rod 41 and the other' end of the cable passing through the transmission housing and over any other suitable number and arrangement of pulleys in order to reachv a convenient place adjacent the instrument place only when the clutch is released. When the shifting rod 41,#which is shown in Fig. l in the position it will occupy when the gears arev in high, has been moved to the right in Fig. 1,

so that the gears are in intermediate or low, it

will be understood that whathas just been described regarding compression of spring 53 may then take place in connection with spring 54 when the movement is in a. direction to compress the latter spring. The mechanism and connections for automatically causing this locking yoke 55 to maintain the 'compression in one or the other of the coil springs 53 and 54 will now be described.

- When the piston head |26 has moved to the left to its limit of movement in Fig. l, the underface of the piston head willvx contact the head and spring-pressed plunger A|42 shown in the lefthand portion of Fig. 5, which will in turn swing the pivoted lever arm |43, whose free end will in turn move arm |44 of circuit breaker switch ||1 so as to open this switch and break the circuit to solenoids 16, 91, 96 and 95, and also solenoid ||5 to deenergize these solenoids; Deenergizing of solenoid 16 will permit the solenoid plunger 15 to be pressed by its spring outwardly against shifting rod 41 and enter the next notch that comes in registry therewith, and thus lock the shifting rod 41 against further longitudinal movement. Deenergization of solenoids 91, 96 and 95 Will causetheir respective solenoid plungers 94 to move outwardly under spring action and bring the locking projection 93 into one or the other of locking grooves 9| or 92, dependent upon which one is in registry with said locking projection, thus holding the shifting gears positively in the position to which they have been moved at this operation. Deenergizing of board. As noted in Figs. 1 and l0, the connection' between one end of the cable |54 and the shifting rod 41 is at 'a suitable distance forward'oi the forwardmost notch on this shifting rod, so that when the cable is operated to move the shifting rod 41 to the rear it will move a suflicient distance to bring the forwardmost notch underv detent of the solenoid plunger 15.

Y 'As seen in Fig. 8 that end of cable |54 which is adjacent the instrument board issecured in the free end of arm |55, which is fulcrumed at |56 on a suitable stationary support. On thev opposite side from arm |55 of fulcrum |56 is the neutra-l`-lever arm |51, the head |58 of which extends through the neutral slot |59 of a panel |66 of the instrument board. Asv seen in Fig. 9, the swingably mounted arm 52 is provided at its free end with a spring projection |6| which bears against resilient switch arm. |62 which normally stands in open position. -When a pull .is applied to the iront end of the neutral cable |54, the pull of this cable on pulley |53 will cause arm |52 -to swing in a clockwise direction in Fig. 9, which will press spring |6| against switch arm |62 and close this switch, thus'closing the circuit to solenoids 16, 91, 96 and 95. This energizing of solenoid 16 causes its. plunger to be drawn into the solenoid, thus moving the detent on the end of this plunger out vof engagement with the registry notch in shifting rod 41, which is necessary in order to permit rearward movement of this shifting rod by a pull on cable |54. This is further permitted by the energization of solenoids 91, 96 and 95, which remove their respective detentsv from locking no tches 9| or 92, which, as will be understood, permits shifting pin 1| to move in succession through such of shifting forks 85 as may be to the rear of the same. Should .this neutral cable be pulled when the transmission mechanism is in high, pin 1| willpass through all three of the shifting forks solenoid ||5 causes solenoid plunger |20 to move 'depressing the long arm thereof, and moving the shortarm |41 to the left, carrying with 'it the movable switch arm |48,` thus closing the switch |49 and closing the circuit through cony ductor |59 which connects solenoid |38 with the 65. This pull upon neutral cable |54 will be continued until notch 14 is to the rear of the detent 'of solenoid plunger 15. When vthe head |58 of neutral lever |51 reaches the bottom of slot |59 (Fig. '1), it will be pushed to the left into detent slot |63 to hold head |58 in this depressed position, with shifting rod 41 held to the rear in neutral position. i

Upon operation of-` the neutral or reversehand levers |58 or |15 shown in Fig. '1, which is a part of the dash-board or adjacent thereto, by the use of manual control the whole automatic process is interrupted. and by so doing the "driver reverts to the more standard process of manual or hand control.` Under manual control or control at the direction of the operator, it is customary and necessary to declutch by use'of clutch pedal I 3| before moving a gear shifting lever into any change of' position whatever. "This operation of the clutch pedal for the-purpose of releasing the clutch and permitting of the movement of the shifting rod through the succession of gears and their shifting devices would be necessary upon shifting into neutral or'from shifting from neutral into low. It will be noted in Fig. 7 that there is a notch provided at |63 to hold the manual lever |58 in neutral. Another notch on the opposite side of the vertical slot |59 is provided for the purpose of enabling the driver to shift conveniently from neutral to low, as at that position the shifting rod will have been released suciently toreturn under the urge of spring 54 to'such position that the low gear will be engaged.

In order to permit this lateral movement of head |58, there will be suillcient play or lost motion in fulcrum |56 of neutral lever |51 to accommodate the same. After head |58 has entered notch |63 and just shortly before it has reached a pulley |13 and through any suitable number of additional pulleys of such arrangement as to bring the end of this cable 1| adjacent slot |14 in a panel of the instrument board and more or less closely adjacent to the neutral slot |58.

Projecting through slot |14 is a head |15 of a bellcrank similar to the neutral bellcrank |55-I 51 of Fig. 8, cable |1| being attached to the bellcrank of head |15 in a similar manner to the attachment of the cable |54 to the neutral bellcrank in Fig. 8. In other |58 and the reversing head |15 move up and down in the slots |59 and |14. Fixed to the neutral lever |51 and extending to the right as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, is a bar |16 which extends to a position under the lever of reverse head |15, so

that the reverse lever head |15 cannot be moved downwardly in slot |14 unless neutral head |58 has prior thereto been moved downwardly in its slot |59. This prevents reverse being effected until all the other gears have been locked in neutral. At the bottom of the reversing slot |14 is its limit of lateral movement, head |55 or an adg of notches 9| or 92 of the shifting levers that will hold the associated shifting gear out of driving engagement with its complemental spur gear.

Circuit breaker |55 controls the circuit to switch |62 (Fig. 9) and when head |58 of neutral lever |51 is moved out of the lateral notch |53, circuit breaker switchI |55 will be automatically closed to again closethe circuitto switch` |52, which circuit will again be broken when the pull on rocker arm |52 is released as a result o releasing the pull on the neutral cable.

Due to the shifting rod 41 having been pulled to the rear by the pull on the neutral cable |54, the shifting pin 1| will be in a position to first shift the gears into low 'as the shifting rod moves forwardly in response to the stored up energy in coil spring 54, and as the load resistance becomes less as a result of the automobile or other mechanism gaining speed, shifting pin 1| will as it further moves forwardly in turn shift the gears into medium and high in succession as required.

The reverse mechanism will nowgbe described. As seen in Figs. I and 2, spur gear 32 is spaced from spur gear |66 a suitabledistance to receive therebetween reverse idler gear 51, which is longitudinally slidable on stub shaft |58throu'gh the medium of bellcrank |59 shown in Fig. 6. As

will be understood, when idler gear |61 is caused to mesh with each of gears 32 and 56, this will reverse the direction of rotation of driving shaft erations. Aside from thishydraulic operation of,

4 in an obvious manner. Bellcrank |59 is normally rotated in a clockwise `direction in Fig. 6 by spring |19. To effect counterclockwise move- This control of the hydraulic ment ofbellcrank |59 in Fig. 6 so as to shift the l idler Vgear |61 into mesh with eachof gears 32 and 56, a cable |1| is attached to the free end of arm |12 of bellcrank |59 which cablepasses over from the drive shaft, this lattermechanism is.

omitted and I have substituted ther'efor a'hydraulic means which will now be described.

As seen in Fig. 10, an hydraulic cylinder |18 is formed in the forward portion of the dinerential housing, in which cylinder operates a piston head |19 to displace oil in said cylinder |18 by forcing said oil through pipe line to the front end of cylinder 8| to act against a piston head |62 therein. Rigidly connected with piston head |82 is a piston rod |83 having nxed at its front end the shifting arm |84, which is bifurcated at its lower ends to straddle shifting rod 41 and operate the spring-pressed cup members |85 in either direction depending upon the direction of movement of piston head |82. The cup members 5| and 52 of Figl 1 are also secured to shifting rod 41 4so thatmovement of the lower end of shifting arm |54 will store up energyin one or the other of the coil springs 53 or 54, depending upon the direction of movement of piston head |82.

The amount of movement of shifting arm |84 is controlled by the quantity of oil forced into cylinder 18| from cylinder |18, and in order to control the .amount of movement of piston head |52 and shifting arm |84, cylinder |8| is so proportioned with relation to cylinder |15 thatla small amountA of movement of piston head |19 will cause the requisite amount of movement oi' -piston head |82 to accomplishthe gear shifting op'- the shifting arm |84, instead of the use of the form of shifting lever shown in Fig. l, the opera.

tion of the parts in Fig. 10 are similar to those in Fig. 1, with the further exception that in Pl'. 10 the positive holding of the stored up energy in either oi', springs 59 or 54 is enected through the hydraulic pressure instead of the locking rack bar |31 and teeth on the top of yoke 55 in Fig. 1. pressure in Fig. l0 is eiected as follows:

When the circuit is closed through movement of bell-crank |46 by wiper armf |45, solenoid |51 is energized which causes valve |88` to seat words, the neutralhead forward longitudinal movement of drive shaft 4, coil spring |3 will be compressed at the same against valve seat |89, which prevents the oil in cylinder |8| and against piston head |82 from any release from this cylinder, thus positively maintaining piston rod |83 and shifting arm |84 in the position already occupled.- This is necessary, as will be understood, only when the clutch is released. As soon as piston head |26 in cylinder I25reaches its rearmost limit of movement, rocker arm |46 through appropriate spring pressure, is returned to its original positionand switch arm |48 moved to open the switch and deenergize solenoid |81 and move valve |88 from its valve seat |89, releasing the lock on the oil line and occurring aft'er the clutch is again en-` gaged.

The drive shaft 4 in Fig. v10 is moved longitudinally by the load resistance between Aworm gear 3 and worm 5 `in-a manner similar .tb that described in connection with Fig. 1. During the time that piston head |19 is moved forwardly. When the load resista-nce decreases suillciently coil spring |3 will cause drive shaft 4 to move rearwardly, which in turn will move piston head |19 rearwardly and correspondingly withdraw oil from cylinder. |8I, thereby causing forward movement of the shifting arm |84, thereby causing shifting rod 41 to move forwardly and accomplish the shifting of the gears from low to intermediate or high in accordance with the corresponding lessening in the load resistance as automobile or other mechanism picks up speed.

In Figs. 11, 12, 13 and 14 I have shown a further modication of the mechanism for operating the gear shifting levers. In this modification instead of using the shifting fork and cam levers of Figs. 2 and 4, I have omitted these and fulcrum the shifting levers 21', 39 and 46 onA suitable fulcrum shafts |90. These shifting levers on the opposite side of their fulcrum arepro-l vided with the extensions |9| which enter cam slots |92, |93 and |94 of rotatable disks |95, |96 and |91 which are formed in their circumferential edge with suitably spaced notches |98. These disks are rotatably mounted on stub shafts |99 and have xed thereto or integrally formed therewith the mutilated gears 200, 20| and 202, which mutilated gears cooperate at the proper time with rack teeth 203 formed in the required position on the shifting rod 41'. Cooperating with notches |98 are the detents 204 fulcrumed at 205 and normally spring-pressed to hold detent 204 in the registering one of notches |98, in order to positively hold the shifting gear in or outof mesh, as will be readily understood. On the opposite side of fulcrum 205 the detent members are formed with a right angled arm 206, positioned closely -to which is the pole end of an electro-magnet 201, which upon energization at the proper time and in proper sequence will attract arm 206 and withdraw detent 204 from notch |98 to permit rotation of disk |91.

vAs seen in Fig. 12, the cam slots |92,-|93 and |94 are so formed that when the end of arm |9| is in the middle portion off-this slot the free end of the corresponding shifting lever will be moved in one direction, while whenpthe cam slot is moved to bring end |9| to one' or the other'of its end portions, the free end of the shifting arms will be moved in the opposite direction. For eX- ample, referring to disk |95, when arm |9| is in the position shown in Fig. 12 and in the middle of cam slot |92, the free end of shifting lever 21 will be in such position that the clutch member 22 will have been moved into driving enga-ge'- ment with the spur gear 2|. When the cam slot 'Y |92 has moved to bring the end of the same to arm |9|, the free end of shifting lever 21 will be moved in the opposite direction to disengage clutch member 22 from spur gear 2 |93 and |94 operate shifting levers 39 and 46.?

in a similar manner, these partsbeing so formed and positioned to effect the shifting into inter-l mediate or low at the proper time.

The general operation of the electro-magnets 201 which control detents 204- and the'locking Cam slots or unlocking of the disks |95, |96 and |91, corresponds generally to the operation of the solenoids 95, 96 and 91 describedin connection with Fig. 2. The rotation of'disks |95, |96 and |91 is effected at the proper time by engagement of rackteeth 203 with the mutilated gears 200, 20|,

202, as these rack` teeth 203 are brought opposite J the teeth of thesemutilated-gears, the number of teeth in these mutilated gears being such as to give disks |95, |96 and |91 the proper amount of rotation to effect the shifting of their respective gears. The number of rack teeth 203 is made suflicient to effect this-result, and after these teeth have passed the mutilatedgears associated.

with disk 95, they next engage the mutilated gears associa-ted witih disk |96, and after having illustrated in Figs. 11, 12, 13 and 14 may be sub. y

rod, and the corresponding operation of the' shifting levers and the detents 204 and electromagnets 201., will be more readily understood by an inspection of Fig. 14.

It ,is believed that with the above description it will be readily apparent how `the mechanism stituted for the shifting mechanism described in connection with the other iigures of the drawings.

In the operation of my self-adjusting gear f shifting mechanism, assuming the same to be applied to an automobile and the automobile in motion under normal conditions with the gears in high, as shown -in Fig. 1, the load resistance between the driven gear 3 and the driving worm 5 will be such that the driving shaft will be toward the rear as shown in this gure, it being normally maintained in that position because of the strength of the coil spring I3 being sufficient to hold drive shaft t in vits rearmost position under normal driving conditions.

conditions there will be no compressing movement transmitted to either of springs 53 and 54,

any such compression having been already used f Under these in the last preceding motion transmitted to the shifting rod 41.

The pin 1| will bewithin .the shifting fork 85 of gear shifting lever 21, with the fork in vertical position, the cam lever 83 in horizontal position at right angles thereto holding shiftinglever 21 in the forward position, and with clutch member 22 inserted into spur gear 2| with the internal teeth thereof and clutch member 22 in driving n engagement. This connects engine shaft 20 and driving shaft 4 directly together to rotate at the same speed. 'Also at this time the shifting -fork' of each of shifting levers 39`and 49 will extend' toward the front of the carin the position shown in Fig. 2, and all three of the shifting levers 21, 39 and 46 will be locked in their respective positions just referred to by the detent on the end of the solenoid plunger entering one or the other of the notches 9| or 92 in the top of these shifting levers. For example, under the conditions just stated, this locking detent will be in notch 92 of lever 21, while the locking detent of each of solenoids 96 and 91 will also'be in notch 92, as will be understood in Fig. 2. It is thus seen that under these conditions the front clutch member 22 will be in driving engagement with its spur gear 2|, and each of clutch members 36 and 42 will be out of engagement with their respective spur gears, which latter gears are idling on drive shaft 4. Also,a at this time the detent of locking plunger 15 of solenoid 16 will be in engagement with the rearmost notch 12 of shifting rod 41,' this notch corresponding always with the high gear position.

It is here important to note that the tripping projection 68 of trip arm 661s forward of trip finger 98, which latter stands in its normal position with the circuits of the trip switchv 99 broken. This means that all of the solenoids on this circuit, to-wit, solenoids ||5, 16, 91, 96 and 95 are all deenergized and their spring-pressed plungers protruded to accomplish their valve seating and locking operation. Under these conditions clutch pedal |3| is in its up position with the clutch engaged, and due to the clutch pedal spring, piston head |26 is in its extended or rearmost position with the cylinder open to the atmosphere through the valve controlled opening |30.

Assuming now that the load resistance is increased a suiiicient amount, an added strain will be thrown on the driving mechanism, with the result that worm A5 will be pushed forwardly (to the left in Fig. 1) with a corresponding movement of drive, shaft 4, and putting coilspring I3 under added compression. This will move shifting arm 58 about its fulcrum in a clockwise direction, its roller head 51 moving yoke 55 to the rear (to the right in Fig.l 1) to compress coil spring 53, and when this movement is continued a suiiicient amount trip projection 68 of trip arm 66 will move tripping nger 98 to the right' and through rocker arm |04 and plunger |06 will close switch |09 and the circuit through conductors I I2 and and the further conductors in this circuit, as referred to above, thus energizing solenoids ||3, H5,- 16, 91, 96 and 95.` Solenoid H3 thus draws into itself spring-pressed plunger |06 to hold switch |09 closed, while solenoid ||5 draws plunger |20 into itself and` opens valve |2| to connect the interior 'of cylinder |25 with the from its notch, so that it will again contact the shifting rod slidably and be in position to jump into the nextnotch that comes in registry therewith, which under the movement now being described will be notch 13.

head |26 striking the end of spring-pressed plunger |42, so as to move switch arm |44 and open the circuit breaker switch shown in Flg. 5,

, notch registers therewith.

Simultaneously with this release of plunger 15,`

the deenergization of solenoids 91, 96 and 95 will permit their spring-pressed plungers to be released and protruded, so that their respective detents will be in position to jump into either of notches 9| or 92 that may present themselves thereto. Also simultaneously the deenergizing of solenoid I5 will release its plunger, which will be protruded by its spring to again seat valve |2| and open port |30 to the atmosphere, thus permitting piston head |26 to move to the rear under action of the clutch pedal spring not shown. Also simultaneously the deenergizing of solenoid 3 will permit its spring-pressed plunger |06 to' be protruded, permitting spring switch |09 to open ready for another movement.

Trip finger 98 has been returned to its normal vertical position shown in Fig. 5 by its coil spring |08 and is ready for another operation. l

This moving of detent plungers 15 and 94 of the three solenoids 95, 96 and 91 into unlocking position, and their subsequent release so that they can go back again into locking position, as just described, is done quickly so that these detents rwill be at once available forsentering the next notch presented, which controls the distance the shifting rod is moved and holds the shifting levers 2139 and 46 with their attendant clutch members under positive control to prevent their being moved at the wrong time or in the wrong direction. 'I'his movement of the-shifting od 41 from notch 12 to notch 13 with relation to t e detent of plunger 15, carries the vacuum line |23, while at the same time closing the interior causes their plunger to be drawn thereinto and 65 release the detent on the end thereof from whichever of notches 9|, 92 the .same may be in. It is thus seen that the parts are now in position for shifting of the shifting rod 41 under action of the energy stored up in spring 53, which, as seen, will move the shifting rod` to the right in Fig. 1. In orderto prevent too great a movement of shifting rod 41, I have provided means for releasing the spring-pressed plunger 15 of solenoid 16 quickly after it has been withdrawn shifting pin 1| to the position shown in Fig. 2, thus swinging shifting fork 85 from a vertical to a rearwardly inclined position, which permits pin lH during its longitudinal travel to move out of the slot in this fork as shown in Fig. 2, which movement causes clutch member 22 to slide to the rear longitudinally of drive shaft 4 and out of engagement with spur gear 2| by reason of the travel of roller 84 in slot 86. Pin 1| continues to move rearwardly with shifting rod 41 and, as will be appreciated in Fig. 2, enters the slot 81 of the shifting fork of shifting lever 39, moving it to a vertical position. At this point the movement of shifting pin 1| is stopped due to the detent of plunger 15 having entered notch 13 in shifting rod 41, which must be so positioned as to bring this about. This, as will be appreciated in lFig. 2, has moved the lower end of shifting lever 39 to the right and carried clutch member 36 into the toothed hollow interior of spur gear 33 to engage with the teeth therein, Aand at the.

same time leaving shifting lever 21 locked in the position it was when pin 1| left it, and not disturbing shifting lever 46 because of the shifting pin not having yet reached the shifting fork of that lever. This means that the gears are now movement of piston head |26, piston rod |33 and the teeth on the adjacent face of yoke 55 to positively hold the yoke in the position which it then occupies and prevent dissipation of the energy stored up by the movement described above in-coil spring 53. The need for this locking of yoke 55 in position when the clutch is released is that the direct connection to the engine has been broken and the load resistance no longer felt against the driving power. As will be understood, this locking of yoke 55 to prevent dissipation of the energy in spring 53 is only required for the short interval that the clutch is released, after Which it is necessary that yoke 55 be quickly unlocked, which is eifected by the return of piston head |26 to they right in Fig. l,

as explained above, which removes the wiper arm i435 from lever arm |46 and again permits the spring urged switch arm\ |48 to move to open position and deenergize solenoid |38 to permit its spring-pressed plunger |39 to move upwardly under action of its spring and move the teeth of rack bar |38 away from engagement with the teeth on the yoke 55. A

The operation and movement of parts in shifting the gears from high to intermediate will be clearly understood from vthe above, from which the other required movements in the gear shifting operation will it is believed be clear. If the load resistance continues to increase or subsequently increases, the driving shaft 4 will be moved further forwardly with more energy being stored up in the main coil spring I3 and with further rearward movementof yoke 55, thus 'again storing up energy in the 'spring 53.v When this rearward scribed above. the solenoid ||5 was energized to open valve |2| and close valve |28 to cause piston head |26 to move to the left in Fig. 1 through connection with the vacuum line, .and a similar operation-of solenoids ||3 and ||4 which need not again be repeated. Continuedmovement to the rear of shifting'pin 1| in Fig. 2 will carry this pin into the slot of the shifting fork of shifting lever, 46 and move thiswork 85 to a vertical position which will carry-the clutching gear 42 into clutching engagement with the internal teeth`in spur gear 34 to put the gears into low..

'As will be understood from Fig. 2, when clutch member 42 has been moved into engagement with spur gear 34 for low gear'driving, clutch members 22 and 36 will be out of engagement with their respective, gears. ment the detent plunger 15 of solenoid 16 `and the detent plungers of Vsolenoids 91,96 and 95, were only momentarily withdrawn from their corresponding notches, so that the detent plunger 15 would be quickly available for entry into the next notch of shifting rod 41 and the plungers 94 of solenoids 95, 96 and 91 quickly returned to position to lock their respective shifting levers. Detent plunger 15 will thus be in position to' jump into notch 14 when the shifting rod has moved that distancejnotch 14 being so positioned on the shifting rod as to bring the shifting fork of shifting lever 46 into a vertical position anclthe gears properly meshed in low when notch 14 registers with detent plunger 15.

When the load resistance lessens to a s'ufdcient degree the energy stored up in the main spring I3 will cause drivingshaft 4 to move rearwardly 39 and 46, to bring aboutv the shifting of the gears from low to intermediate and high in proportion movement of yoke 55 has continued far enough to carry trip arm 66 to the right in Fig. 1 to cause trip projection 69 to operate tripping ringer 98 of trip switch 98, lthe detent plunger 15 of solenoid 16 will again be withdrawn and moved out t of notch 13 to permit Ashifting rod 41to move rearwardly under the pressure from spring 53, carrying vwith it shifting pin 1|, which will swing the shifting fork 85lof shifting lever 39 from the vertical'position in which it was left in the operation described above to the rear to permit shifting pin 1| to move out of slot 81 and into slot 81 of the next shifting fork on shifting lever 46.

- This movement of the shifting fork of shifting ment of the shifting rod, vas will be readily un- 1 gizatlon of the .solenoids has also effected the described. Also in a mannersimilar to that deto the degrees in load resistance. in a manner similar to that pointed out above for the shifting of the gears from high to low. A glance at Fig. 2 will show that the shifting forks and their associated parts are so arranged as t'o permit the shifting pin 1| to move into the slot in each of these forks to move these shifting forks onecat a time either lnto'vertical movement or an angular position with relation to the side of the shifting lever. Also shifting pin 1| in effecting the shifting of the 4gears can move from its position when the shifting fork of lever 21 is vertical, rearwardly through the shifting forkV of shifting lever 39 and later through and out of'the same into fork 85 of shifting lever 46. In other words, this movement of shifting pin 1| into and through the various shifting yokes may be Aaccomplished in either forward or rearward movederstood from the above description, with the momentary unlocking' of the various detents at the proper time and in the controlled manner described above. The modications shown in Figs. 10 to 13, inclusive, as described earlier herein, differ somewhat in structure but their general operation will be the same as-that described in connection with the preferred form, except for the .obvious diil'erences resulting from -the slight change in structure.

Fis. 15 shows a further modiiication of my invention, which modification comprises the sub- During this movestitution of the conventional ring and pinion bevel gears in the rear axle drive instead of the worm andgear drive as shown in Figs. 1 and 10. To permit the pinion gear 210 to move in response -to the increase in back pressure from the resistance of the rear axle to the power of the drive shaft, which is transmitted to pinion gear 210 through ring gear 211, the bearing of the pinion gear 210 is mounted within the two sides of a supporting bracket comprising two curved plates 212 (one behind the other in Fig. eachof these plates being formed with an arcuate slot 213 whose curvature is concentric with ring gear 2| I. These plates 212 are secured by bolts 214 to supporting members 215 suitably secured to the automobile chassis or other convenient portion of the automobile orother mechanism in which my invention is being used.

Pinion 210 is fixed to shaft 216, which at one end is connected to the shaft 211 by universal joint member 218 to permit up and down movement of these two shafts. Shaft 211 is provided with splines 219 of a similar nature to spline 1B in Figs. 1 and 10 to permit relative longitudinal movement between these two shafts. is rotatable in the oating bearing 220, which carries on its opposite sides studs 221 which move up and down in slots 213. Also pivoted to one of these studs 221 at its bottom end is an arcuate arm 222, which is provided with an arcuate-` slot 223, which slot as arm 222 moves up and down moves over and is guided by a pin 224 fixed to arm 225, which inturn is secured to the supper-ting member 215.

'Ihe upper end of arm 2221 is provided with an outstanding stud 226 which has movement in slot 221 formed in the free end of piston rod 228, which carries on its opposite end a piston head 223 reciprocally mounted in cylinder 231| with suitable packing glands and the like. Cylinder 230 is hingedly mounted on one or more pins 231 so as to permit this cylinder to have a greater or less swinging movement during operation of the device. Cylinder 230 is connected by a hose, flexible pipe or the like 232, with an operating cylinder, as shown in Fig. 10, for causing the gear shifting operations in a manner similar to the operations and arrangement of parts illustrated in Fig. 10, which need not be here repeated.

It is thus seen that in the modiflcationvof Fig. 15, when the load resistance is increased there is a tendency for pinion 211) to move upwardly on ring gear 211 thus causing stud 221 -to move upwardly in slot 213 and slot 223 to move upwardly over pin 224, thusproducing a motion at the upper end of arm 222 to the right in Fig.l

15, which will cause piston rod 223.to carry piston head 223 to the right ln cylinder 230 a distance depending upon the amount of such load resistance. This movement to the right of piston head 229 will force oil or other suitable liquid through tube 232 to parts similar to those shown in Fig. 10 for a similar purpose. When the load resistance decreases pinion 211| will move downwardly with relation -to ring gear 211, with the result that piston head 223 will be moved to the left a corresponding amount.

It is also to be noted that the longitudinal axis of shaft 216 at alltimes passes through the center lof the axle shaft 233, regardless of its elevated or depressed position. Spring 234 connecting bearing 220 with the lower support 215 furnishes the proper amount of resistance to give the desired action between these parts from the change Shaft IIB- in load resistance and, as is obvious, tends to normally return these parts to the lowered position shown in Fig. 15. It is believed the reciprocation of piston head 229 from the up and down motion of bearing 221) will be understood gears, the same general results as those accomplished in the forms of my invention shown in Figs. 1 and 10. It is also pointed out that the spring 234 holds the bearing member 220 down t to the bottom of slot 213 when the machine is driven in high gear at easy running strain. The strength of this spring is such that the spring will yield to a greater strain due to increased load.

In the modication shown in Fig. 16, the bevel ring gear 211 is keyed in the usual manner to the rear axle shaft 233, andthe up and down movement of the bevel pinion gear 210 is effected through load resistance in the same manner as that shown' and described in connection with Fig. 15. In Fig. 16, however, the mechanism is simplified and rendered more positive as shown.

'In Fig. 16 the curved plates 212 (there being one 220 of Fig. 16 is similar to the bearing 220in Fig. 15, except that the former has an upstand- `ing perforated lug 241 in which is pivotally mounted a lateral pin 235 on the lower end of the piston rod 236, it being understood that as the bearing 220' moves up and down it has slidable contact with the inner faces of the two spaced apart curved plates 212, there being. provided a flat face on each side of bearing 220 to form this contact, and between each of these faces and the adjacent inner face of the curved plates 212 suitable anti-friction devices will be provided o such as roller bearings, ball bearings, or the like.

Pin 235 which passes through the .aperture in lug 241 also extends laterally in each direction a sucient distance to be seated within the two curved slots 213 and beguided thereby in its up and down movement. Piston rod 236 at its upper '233 are integrally connected to a circular portion 241i, which is swingably positioned over pin or bolt 214'. This arrangement permits cylinder 231 to lswing to accommodate its change of position as the lower end of -piston rod 236 moves along the curved slot 213. A spring 234 is connected between the lower rear end of bearing 220 and any suitable place in the lower portion of the differential housing, such as the bracket 215, bottom of the housing, or the like, this spring giving a normal downward urge to the bevel pinion gear 2111 and'bearing 2211' in a manner similar to that described in connection with Fig. 15.

As the bevel pinion gear 210 is caused to move upwardly with relation to the bevel ring gear 211, due to increased loadresistance the piston rod 236 will lbe carried upwardly and move its piston head 242 in an upward direction in cylinder 231, which-parts are shown in detail in Fig. 17. Piston rod 236, as shown in Fig. 17, is of 2,243,321 tubular construction to receive the supporting K -rod 243, which is fixed at its upper end tothe e piston head 244 and passes downwardly through an opening in the piston head 242 into the opening in piston rod 236 a suiiicient distance to give lateral support to the piston head in its longitudinal movement in the cylinder and to counteract any undue sidethrust imposed upon thepiston head during operation of the laterally spectively, each of which pipes connects with aF gear shifting cylinder 254 shown in Fig. 18, it.

being understood that there will be one of these cylinders and its associated partsfor each of the sets of gears to be shifted. Also formed in the side of cylinder 231 are openings 255 and 256, which at their inner ends are provided with extensions to form elongated recesses 251 withinr which are seated correspondingly elongated wiper arms 258 and 259. Fixed to wiper arms 258 and 259 to move therewith are the wiper rods 268 and 26|, which are formed with tapered outer ends 262 and 263. Extending downwardly from valve 248 is an operating stem 264, while extending upwardly from valve 249 is an operating stem 265, and extending downwardly there-A from is a valve operating stem 266. Extending upwardly from valve 250 is an operating stem 261. Y

As shown in Fig. 17, when piston head 242 moves upwardly it immediately at the beveled Vadiacent side contacts the beveled lower end of wiper arm 259`and moves the same to the right against tension of spring 268 to force the tapered end 268 of wiper rod 26| between the ends ofthe operating stems 266 and 261 t9 open a valve within each of valves 249 and 250, which thus opens passage through the pipe lines 246, 252 and 241,

253. These pipe lines each'lead toa gear shifting cylinder 254, and the hydraulic fluid in the cylinder 231 will befvforced through pipe line 246, 252 to its'cylinder 254 to cause shifting of the intermediate or second speed gears, while at the same time the fluid returns through pipe line 241, 253 from a corresponding cylinder 254 of the high speed gears, which are at this time being unmeshed. l

As piston head u242`continues to rise it will ultimately pass above and out of contact with wiper arm 259, permittingthis wiper arm and the wiper rod 26| to move to the left in Fig. 17 under action of the spring268,'thus again closing each of valves 249 and 250.

It is here pointed out that as piston head 242' starts to rise, wiper arm 259 will immediately Y move to the right, thus accommodating part of the liquid displacement caused by movement of the piston head, and such further accommodation as such liquid might require is accomplished by having a flexible medium used in two faces ofthepiston' head 242, which flexible portions may beintheformofadiaphragmortlielikeofarwr suitable resiliency and resistance.

u: wm be provided with the usual piston nnss.

As piston head 242 continues to rise under actionoftheupward movementofbearing 228 andplstonrod236,itwillnextcontactthelower beveledendotwiperumlandmovethe lometherkhtin Pls. 11.7lndmovesthe valveu understood, the oil or other hydraulic liquid will be forced outwanuy. through pipe /nne 245, 25| and flow inwardly back to cylinder 231 through pipe line 246, 252.

The cylinders 254 and associated Iparts for shifting the gearswill now be described.

Longitudinally slidable in cylinder 254 is the' piston head 269 having piston rod 210, which extends outwardly through a suitable stuing box 21| and carries at its outer end suitable collars or the like 212, to which are anchored the end 213 of spring length 214. Spring 214 at its' opposite or outer end 215 is secured in a similar manner to collars 216 or other suitable connecting means to the outer section 211 of the piston rod. This provides a two part piston rod, which parts are movable'longitudinally with relation to each other by or against the spring length 214, as will be more fully described. Extending upwardly and xed to piston rod 218 is an` upstanding peg 218' carrying a head 219 on its upper end,` and extending through a slot 289 formed in the upper portion of the casing tube 28| which surrounds the spring length 214 and piston rods 210 and 211. Fixed tothe outer section 211 of the-two part piston rod is a collar 283 preferably in one or all of the gear shifting cylinders and associated yparts as may be desired. In the present instance this is shown in` detail in Fig. 20 as applied to the high gear shifting cylinder and associated parts, which are described in detail later.

Projecting upwardly from the upper surface oi casing tube 28| is a pair of spaced supporting bearings 286, through which is slidably mounted the slidingA bar 281, which is formed at one end,

as shown in Fig. 18, with elongated slot 288. Downwardly extending from the right-hand end of bar 281 in Fig, 18 is a beveled lug 289, the lower end of .which is slidable in slot 290 of the casing-tube 28|. The outer section 211 of the piston rod is formed on its lower face with against the lower face of the outer section 211 of the piston rod so that when either of notches 29| or 292 registers with this latching projection, the latter will under action of spring 294 move thereinto. Latchin'g pin-295 is beveled on each side of its upper end 291, so that as bevel lug 289 moves in either direction over pin 295 it will cause`it to move downwardly to move latching projection 296 out of one or the other 'of notches 28| or 292, depending upon which one it is in engagement with. As pin 296 moves downwardly under action of bevel lug 289, it will at its lower end press against a resilientv A arm of switch 298, which will close a circuit and cause the operation of the automatic clutch as heretofore described..

In Fig. 19 is shown the outer end of section 211 of the two part piston rod, which is connected arms move rigidly together.

of arm 308 there is attached a pull cable 309,-

crank 30| which is fulcrumed at 302, and at its slotted upper end has connection with a cylindrical lug 303 of the yoke 304, which in turn shifts gear 305 into or out of engagement with gear 306.

' In Fig. '20 is shown in detail a neutral device for placing the `gears in neutral whenever desired. In this arrangement I have provided a collar 283 fixed to piston rod 211, and having pivotally connected at 282 a lever having at one end an arm 284 and at its opposite end a shorter angularly extending arm 285. Spring 301 extending between arm 284 and collar 283 is provided to normally hold arm 284 in elevated position. Depression of arm 284 will move latch 296 out of its corresponding notch in piston rod 211 to unlatch the same. To effect this downward unlatching movement of arm 284 there is provided a downwardly extending arm 308, which is xed to arms 284 and 285, so that these three At the lower end which leads to a suitable position adjacent the driver. Pull on cable 309 will, as will be readily understood, unlatch the latch 296 as described above. In order to limit the downward movement of arm 284 to the proper amount, a lug 3|0 is formed on collar 283, against which lug arm 285 contacts at the time arm 284 is at its lowest limit of movement.

l The first pull upon neutral cable 309 will unlatch latch 296 from piston rod 211, and a continued pull will pull piston rod section 211 inwardly and compress spring 214. This inward movement of piston rod section 211 will stop just before latch 296 drops in-to the next notch. This pull, as w-ill be understood, will disengage the gears, and latch finger 296 not dropping into a notch on the piston rod section will be in position to permit the gears to be shifted by reason of the stored up energy in spring 214 immediately upon release of the neutral cable. While this neutral is illustrated in the drawings as being applied at a time when the gears are in high,

and the subsequent shifting of the gears will follow from high to the next lower in order, I wish it understood that such neutral mechanism can also be applied when the gears are in low and the shifting proceed from the lower to the higher gears before the starting of the car, by a simple arrangement similar -to that which has been above described provided on the low gear shiftlngmechanism but pulling from the opposite direction to engage the low gears when the neutral lever has been released. When this arrangement on the low gear shifting mechanism is used upon releasing from neutral, it will be necessary to pull back the piston rod section 211 on the high gear shifting mechanism so that when it is pulled into neutral position it will be pulled far enough so that the latch 298 will become engaged with notch 292. In the operation of the above it will be seen from what has gone before that as piston head 242 in cylinder 231 moves up and down therein, it will operate the wiper arms 258 and 259 at intervals to establish passage of liquid to or from the gear shifting cylinders 254. Referring to Fig. 16, this reciprocation of piston head 242 is effected by up and down'movernent of bearing 220', which up movement is caused by added load resistance and which down movement is caused by spring 234'.

This motion of ring and pinion gears while in by a clevis 299 and pin 300 with a slotted bellmesh is made possible by the construction shown in Figs. 15 and 16, in which the support for the driving shaft is mounted between plates 2|2 which are so formed that the arc shown therein is shaped concentric with the center of the ring gear 2| I, and thus at all points within the m0- tion of pinion gear 2|0 and bearing 220 the axis of the shaft of t-hese two members will be continuously pointing at the center of ring gear 2|| vso that the relative positions of pinion gear 2 |0'andv ring gear 2|| are never changed during any of this motion. The motion, which may be referred to as a climbing motion due to the driving rotation of pinion gear 2|0 against the resistance of ring gear 2| will take place within the structure so ,provided in such a way so as to at qno time interfere with the proper driving ofthe mechanism.

As liquid is introduced against the adjacent face of piston head 269 in cylinder 254, this piston head will be moved forwardly in the cylinder, thus compressing the spring length 214 and storing up energy therein until such time 'as tripping lug 289 depresses unlatching pin 295, which unlatches latch 296 from notch 292 (see Fig. 18), upon which unlatching the tension in spring length 214 will cause piston rod section 211 to move outwardly, and through the medium of bellcrank 30| shift pinion gear 305 into mesh with gear 308. There will be one of these assemblies, including the cylinder 254 and assoclated parts, for each of the forward gearv shifts.

Having now described my invention,

I claim:

1. In self-adjusting gear shifting mechanism', a clutch, a. driven element, a driving shaft for driving said driven element and bodily movable by the load resistance between said element and shaft, a movable element caused to move by the bodily movement of said shaft, gear shiftingf ment, and an electrical system of controls co.

ordinating the operations 'and regulating thesequences of the gear shifting mechanism, said electrical system being controlled by the movement of said shaft, and including means for throwing out the clutc-h when the gears are shifted.

2. In self-adjusting gear shifting mechanism, a driven element, a longitudinally movable driving shaft, ratio changing members, a shifting element, means for shifting said shifting element from the bodily movement of the driving shaft, a shifting lever for each of the said members, means for swinging eachof said levers for shiftingl its ratio changing member, said last mentionedmeans being operated by said shifting element to shift said members in sequence in either direction, said rst mentioned means including means for storing up energy upon bodily movement of the driving shaft in either direction while the shifting element is held against movement, latch means for releasing the shifting element after said energy is stored up to permit it to be shifted by said energy, and electrically controlled means to operate said latch means at the proper time with relation to said stored up energy.

3. In self-adjusting gear shifting mechanism, a driven element, a bodily movable driving shaft movable by the variations in the load resistance, a longitudinally movable shifting bar, a member slidably associated with said shifting bar, re- 

